P2P’s law student intern Shannon McHugh prepared the following report on low income individuals in Ontario seeking to increase their level of education, the barriers they face, and recommendations for bridging the gap.

Low Income, Higher Education:  Bridging the Gap between OSAP and OW

It is an indisputable fact that higher education is expensive; however, despite expensive tuition, textbooks and other costs, for many Ontarians, education is an almost automatic rite of passage—after high school comes college or university. For these students, decisions about money still need to be made—how much will one’s parents contribute, is a line of credit possible, will the student qualify for the Ontario Student Assistance Plan (OSAP)?  Though these are important questions, there is another cohort of students for whom the decisions are graver.

Low income individuals in Ontario seeking to increase their educational attainment level face almost impenetrable barriers. They are often forced to choose between meeting their basic needs or going to school.

The situation is particularly challenging for individuals relying on the Ontario Works (OW) program, which requires that individuals wanting to attend college or university must apply for OSAP funding. Qualifying for receipt of OSAP means a person is disqualified from OW. Therefore, the programs cannot be accessed concurrently. There is a special exception for single parents and married or common-law individuals who may be eligible for a ‘top up’ from OW to make up for living costs that OSAP does not cover. This only applies where what is offered through OSAP for living costs is less than what is offered through OW.

This regulation essentially means that low income individuals are relying solely on the amount they receive from OSAP to fund their education and meet their basic needs (food, shelter, clothing). For my supervised research project at the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor, I set out do so some research on this matter to make policymakers aware of the structural injustices embedded within the current systems.

Why talk about this at all?  It is clear that higher education is important. In today’s modernized global economy, a higher education is practically a necessity in order to be competitive in the job market. This is particularly true for women and their children who have yet to escape the feminization of poverty and remain substantially poorer than men.

The regimes in place to regulate both OSAP and OW make it extremely difficult for low income individuals to seek out post-secondary education. If the ultimate aim is to use education as a tool for lifting oneself out of poverty, major policy reforms must be made to the OSAP and OW systems.

Any meaningful change to the current system begins with a realization that current system amounts are simply not enough.  

First, I suggest that assistance amounts for both services must be raised to liveable and adequate amounts. Adequacy should be measured by one’s ability to feed, clothe and house themselves and their families while at the same time getting a post-secondary education, with a sense of dignity and accomplishment.

Second, I suggest that the OSAP and OW programs be harmonized in order to effectively reduce poverty and increase educational attainment levels. Harmonizing the two programs would better account for students’ financial need. It should be permissible for both programs to be accessed concurrently to ensure maximum support for low income individuals attending post-secondary institutions. This would ensure that students are receiving the amount they need for both basic living and educational costs.

Finally, a review of the rules regulating both programs should result in a reformation with the outcome being the introduction of a simple, stable, intuitive and accessible rules regime. Recipients of both OW and OSAP are often confused by the complexity and instability of the rules, leading to their misapplication and the imposition of various ‘punishment’. A new rules regime is integral to an accessible social supports program.

It is completely unacceptable that the province of Ontario deny qualified individuals the opportunity to better themselves through higher education. Ensuring that low income Ontarians have access to higher education should be on the forefront of Ontario’s poverty reduction agenda. Silence on this issue cannot continue to prevail. OW and OSAP must be reviewed and reformulated so that low income individuals wishing to pursue post-secondary education have the financial means by which to do so.

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P2P has had the pleasure of working with interns from various faculties at the University of Windsor and St. Clair College. Interns have worked on various project for their courses in anthropology, business, communications studies, journalism, law, marketing, public administration, social justice, and social work.